Moments are Passed
by Gaia 479
Summary: This is the alternate ending for another story. Not so happy this time. Major Character death. Chapter one is the alternate ending.Chapters two and beyond will be one-shots related to the first. Fox owns Bones. not me.
1. The alternate ending

Temperance awoke slowly. Her eyes refused to respond at first, but eventually they opened slowly. She had never felt so weak. Her pupils adjusted to the well lit room. She was in a hospital. She felt a dull ache throughout her body, but nothing like the pain she had felt, lying on that concrete floor, being cut open. Her memories flashed back, and she tried to sit up. There was the pain she remembered. She lay back down and took a few deep breaths. It hurt a lot to do that.

When she was able to open her eyes again she tried to turn her head. That wasn't so bad. She could handle that. She looked over to the main source of light in the room, the window not far from the bed. It was what was under the window that she focused on.

In a reclining chair, leaned back and sound asleep, was Booth. In his arms, held tightly to his chest was their baby. The baby was dressed in a blue sleeper, and had a light blue knit hat on his head. Tears came to her eyes. It was a boy. Seeley had found the baby. She was so proud, but she felt drowsiness coming over her again. She closed her eyes and drifted off, a smile on her face.

When Booth awoke some time later, he noticed that smile on her face. He bent over to kiss her, but when his lips met her forehead, she felt cold beneath them. He stood back up and put their son down in the hospital issued bassinet. When he turned back to her, he noticed that her lips were blue. He pulled her eyelids back and her pupils were milky and translucent. He closed her eyelids and stumbled backwards. She was gone.

He stood there in shock for who knows how long. A nurse came in to check on her and to do some readings on the patient, and noticed Booth just standing there. Catatonic. She looked quickly to the patient in the bed, and became aware of what had shocked the man. She ran further to the bedside and noticed the heart rate machine was flat lining. The sound had been turned down, and she wondered how that would have happened. She turned back to the man standing slightly behind her. He still hadn't moved.

"Agent Booth...I am so sorry. She seems to have passed. We knew it was a possibility, she had lost so much blood." The man still didn't move but his eyes flashed briefly in her direction.

"Yeah..." He finally broke his trance, and he quietly turned around, picked up the baby, and sat down in the chair. He kissed the boy's head, and held him close. He seemed very calm. "Just you and I now, bud."

The nurse watched them for a second and her heart broke. Everything this man had been through, and now his wife had died. This wasn't fair. This should have been a happy ending. She left the room to go find the doctor, to pronounce the time of death for the patient. She left the man and the baby in the room. They would need a few minutes, she was sure.

When the nurse had found Doctor Weaver, he was talking to a family member of another patient, but she boldly interrupted them by pulling the Doctor aside, and whispering in his ear. The Doctor apologized to the man he had been speaking with, and ran off down the hallway.

The nurse shut her eyes as she noticed a large group of people starting to gather in the waiting room. A tall, pretty, dark skinned woman tried to get her attention. The nurse knew she couldn't pretend to not have seen the woman, and she approached her carefully.

"Hi...there... My name is Doctor Camille Saroyan, I'm with the Jeffersonian Institute, and we're just wondering if there's any word on Temperance Brennan, or her baby?"

"Everyone in the room knew the news was not good by the look on the woman's face, though she tried to mask it. Angela turned and cried on Hodgins shoulder. He held her tightly. Cam asked the nurse,

"Now is there something wrong with the baby, or with Doctor Brennan?"

"Uh, the baby is healthy and fine...the father is in with them now..." Without finishing the sentence, she didn't have to; the name she hadn't mentioned was the one who was gone. The mood in the room dropped, and only Angela's sobs could be heard, muffled by the shoulder of Hodgins.

Cam closed her eyes, and turned back to the rest of her team. She said, mostly to herself,

"Oh... dammit...Seeley."

Everyone took turns holding everyone; grief was spilled all over the room. Shoulders were soaked by the crying of one another. Nobody noticed Booth come into the room after an unknown amount of time had passed, until his cracked voice grabbed everyone's attention.

"I know this day sucks royally, but does anyone want to meet the one good thing that it brought?" He was holding the baby facing towards everyone.

Angela was the first one to step forward, and take the baby from Booth's arms. She cried into the blanket that was wrapped around the infant. She eventually looked at the child closely and then looked at Booth.

"Boy, he's the spitting image of Brennan. He looks just like her. Blue eyes and everything. He's beautiful Booth." She couldn't bring herself to say congratulations.

"Yeah, he is, isn't he?" His eyes were already swollen and red, and the squint squad saw a batch of tears forming in his eyes.

Camille stepped forward and drew him into a tight embrace. He held her as tightly as she held him. His shoulders shook with the sobs that racked his body. She said to him,

"Seeley, we are so sorry. Everyone here knows how much you went through to get her, and we are all here for you, I hope you remember that in the days to come..." Everyone else in the room confirmed Cam's sentiments. He eventually got control of himself, and stood up straight.

"Thanks you guys." He paused while he met the eyes of everyone there, "Can you guys watch the baby for a second, I have to go sign a birth certificate and a death certificate with one pen. Ironic huh."

Angela told him they would watch the boy whenever he needed. As he turned to walk back down the hallway, the artist asked him,

"Did you guys ever decide on a name?" Her sympathetic eyes tried to take away some of the meaning of her words. Seeley turned back to face her fully.

"No, we never agreed on anything, but I think I'll call him Jax. It's a combination of Jared and Max. Two people who are the reason that he's here right now. With us." He turned away, before he had another breakdown and left the room.

Every single person standing in his wake caught his use of the singular form, 'I think' and 'I'll call him' when he told them. Every single heart broke a little bit more for their friend, and the men she left behind, one of them being very small, and very newborn. This was not how they expected it to turn out. Seeley Booth always saved the day. He had been just a little bit too late this time. This time when it was the most important time of all. They knew the man would never be the same.

Sweets walked around the corner just then and was met by a room of stares. He immediately noticed the baby in the arms of Angela, and he smiled.

"It's a boy? That's awesome!" No one returned his smile.

"Doctor Sweets, I don't know if you should be here. Doctor Brennan passed away a little while ago, and knowing Booth, he'll be looking for someone to blame very shortly. I would not want to be in your shoes." Cam told him with all seriousness.

"Oh my god. That sucks big time..." His hand covered his mouth, he was in shock. He caught the looks of the other people and quietly turned and left the way he had come. No one tried to stop him.

Angela passed the baby onto Hodgins, whose long lashed were matted together with tears. The bug guy promised the little boy, that he was a part of a very large, very close family, who all loved his mother and she would never be forgotten. They would all protect him, and his Dad. There were not words to describe the emotions in that room in the next hours.

The squints stayed with Booth, until little Jax was cleared to be discharged twelve hours later. The baby was totally healthy, and was free to go. It was hard for Seeley to leave his wife behind, but he was rational enough to know the truth. She was gone.

Angela and Hodgins had gone out at one point and picked up a bunch of supplies for the newly widowed, new father, including a car seat and diapers and formula. Temperance had sworn that she intended to breast feed their child, but...

Booth bundled his son in the tiny seat and thanked everyone for waiting with him, but now he just wanted to go home with their son and start the rest of his life, without her. The squints didn't want him to be alone, but when they brought up their concerns to him, he simply said that he wouldn't be alone. His eyes were on the baby.

He drove home slowly and carefully, knowing that if his wife was with him, she would have been making fun of his over-protectiveness. He already missed her voice, her face, her laughter. He looked into the back seat, and knew her face would be permanently attached to that baby in the back. He almost smiled to himself. Almost.

He arrived at his apartment, so dark and so desolate and he found at first he had a tough time getting out of the vehicle. When he finally did, he got his son out of the backseat, and bundled him up the stairs. At the top of the stairs, there sat a small gift bag. It didn't look overly suspicious, so he reached his hand in and pulled out a card. He opened it and read it out loud, to himself.

"It's not your fault. You did your best." That was all it said.

He reached into the bag and pulled out a small silver dolphin, and a small blue silver dolphin. He knew Max had been there. Seeley found himself relieved. He carried his son into the flat, and set him down in the kitchen while he carried the antique bassinet to their bedroom. His bedroom.

He changed the baby, and fed him, his experience with Parker was all coming back to him very quickly. He was an old pro at this. So he hoped, anyway. He was going to have to be. When the baby had been settled, he put him to sleep in the bedroom, turned on the monitor that was beside their bed, his bed, took the handset with him and walked back to the living room. On the way, he stopped in the hall closet, and picked up an old baseball bat.

He stood in the centre of the room for a minute, and then started swinging. All of his pent up anger was released in the next minutes on his furniture and every fixture that was in the room. He only stopped when he heard his son crying through the monitor. He very calmly put the bat down, took a deep breath, and went to get the baby.

He sat with Jax in the rocking chair, and soothed the baby back to sleep. Every minute he looked at his son, the boy looked more like his mother. That was a good thing. He leaned close to the baby's head and whispered,

"I'm so sorry Jax, I couldn't save her. I hope someday you can forgive me." He turned the small silver dolphin over and over in his hand until he too fell asleep in the chair.


	2. One year Anniversary

One year.

Special Agent Seeley Booth walked over the soft, dewed grass of the path that led to his destination. The day was sunny, the morning had been chilly, but it was warming up now. His young son wiggled in his arms, trying to get down.

"We're almost there Jax." He looked at his son's huge blue eyes, which reminded him so much of another.

"MA-ma?" He noticed his son's definite use of the interrogative. He was such a smart kid. Wonder where he got that from.

"That's right, buddy, we're going to see mama." Well, not exactly see, per se.

The two Booths walked down along a row of trees, it was quiet, and peaceful. When they came to the end of the trees, Booth turned left and followed a familiar route. His feet knew the way. He could make it blindfolded.

When he reached his destination, he set his son down, and kneeled in prayer. When he had finished he crossed himself, but stayed on his knees and leaned back on his heels. His son giggled at a butterfly floating past. Hodgins would be thrilled, thought Booth, an interest in bugs at such an early age.

He looked at the headstone, and shut his eyes. He missed her so much. Their son giggled again, and his eyes opened to see the young boy had fallen down. He didn't cry. He laughed and got right back up. Booth smiled.

"Our baby is one year old today Bones. Look at him, he's beautiful." It was also the one year anniversary of her death. One whole year.

"Our little miracle Temperance. He looks so much like you. He reminds me of you every time I look at him, and he's so smart. Just like his mom." A tear came to his eye and spilled over.

There had been a lot of tears spilled over the year, and not just by him. She had been loved. She was missed by so many. He was not alone in his grief.

His son toddled over to him, and crawled in his lap. He held him close. More tears spilled. His son put his chubby little baby hands up to his father's face and smiled. That was one of the things that Jax had inherited from his father. That smile. It lit up the baby's face and showed his dimples.

Seeley couldn't help but smile back.

Something shiny caught his eye. He leaned over to the source of the gleam and picked up a small silver dolphin that had been stuck in the grass near her headstone... He held it up between his fingers, and turned it around. He had seen this before... he looked around.

His son reached for the dolphin, but Booth denied him.

"It's too small for you bud... you might swallow it." The baby was again distracted by the butterfly that continued to flutter around.

Booth looked around again and called out,

"MAX! If you're there, come out. I promise I won't arrest you!" There was a rustling in the trees. A head popped out with a smile.

"Hello Booths! I thought I might see you here today." His face lit up at the sight of his daughter's only child.

"Hey Max, you're looking good." Booth watched as his father-in-law approached, wary as usual of a trap. "I promise I won't arrest you on my son's birthday. The paperwork is a bitch, and we've got a party to go to after this." Booth smiled. Max smiled. When he got close to them, he leaned over and picked up his grandson. Tears were in his eyes.

"He looks so much like Tempe, don't you think?" Max grinned at the boy, who smiled right back. He bounced him on his hip and the air filled with the cutest baby giggles.

"Yeah, he's got her temper too!" Booth said with a half smile. So many of his smiles these days were half smiles.

The two men just sat there, on the grass, for awhile. Talking about her. Booth let the older man know, that he and the baby had to go soon, but he made Max the promise that he would never arrest him on his son's birthday.

Max handed him the child, with a final departing kiss for the boy, and disappeared into the trees with the words,

"I'll see you guys next year." He was gone.

Booth placed a gentle kiss on the top of the headstone and picked up their son to walk back to the car.

As they left sight of her, the baby turned over his father's shoulders and waved. Something he had recently started doing,

"Ma-ma."

Another tear formed in his eye. He would try to shed them now, so the rest of the day would be happy. It was a happy day too, after all.

Their son was one year old.


	3. The Date

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Booth waited at the bar for his date.

Angela had set him up with a friend of hers who had expressed interest, after meeting him at the squint wedding. Finally... Angela and Jack had gone through with the ceremony. She had told him that three years was long enough to mourn and to go out and enjoy himself. He had thought to himself at her comment; "It took us four years to finally get together". No amount of time would be long enough to get over her. Angela secretly knew that Booth would never get over the loss of his partner. Her friend Anna had been very persistent though. It's not like he could forget her either, even if he wanted to.

Their son was now three years old and the spitting image of his mother. In both looks and personality. The boy, with his auburn hair and fair skin, never mind the big blue eyes, would look at him sometimes with a sideways glance that his mother had used so often. It both broke and warmed his heart at the same time. There were reminders of her everywhere.

He no longer worked much with the Jeffersonian, but he was still a Special Agent with the FBI. He now worked with the Narcotics division, going on raids, arresting gang members. Nothing too dangerous. He certainly hadn't dealt with any serial killers lately, or crazy white haired men trying to wreck his life.

Not that he didn't see the most of the squints regularly; he saw two of them almost every day. Angela and Hodgins had bought the house down the street from the one he had bought for him and his boys. They were always together. Booth was grateful for the support that the couple had given him over the years. Both before her death, and after. Especially after.

The artist and the bug guy were Jax's Godparents. They had sworn before God, that they would be the boy's second parents. And they were. They loved the living piece of their friend and co-worker that she had left behind. Even though Booth's influences dictated the boy's preferences in social activities, the boy loved his sports; Jax was definitely Brennan's child. He was known to take a long time making a decision, thinking over all the consequences before deciding on anything for sure. Everyone who knew him smiled in memory whenever he said, 'I don't know what that means'.

The boy was incredibly gifted. He had shown from very young age that he had above average intelligence and Seeley did whatever he could to encourage their son's clever mind. He suffered gladly through visits to museums and galleries. Jax loved the Jeffersonian. He was more than welcome there at any time, and Booth took him there at least once a week to visit where his mom had spent so many hours. At times, Booth could almost still see her walking through the halls. His memories of her were everywhere. Jax had practically spent the first six months of his life there, being babysat by the squints while his father adjusted to life as a single parent. Life without her.

Now he sat, waiting for his date. There was a hockey game on television that he really would rather be watching with Jax right now. Anything he'd rather be doing. He wondered what his son was doing right now with Angela and Hodgins. Likely painting bugs or something. Having fun, no doubt. He could picture his son's laugh. It was her laugh too. Throaty with a little snort at the end.

The newlyweds had just gotten back from their honeymoon the week earlier, and Angela had told him that she was going to babysit while he went out that night. What a pair. He smiled to himself.

Booth watched the small blond woman approach him tentatively. He raised one eyebrow. She was way better looking than the woman he remembered from Angela and Hodgins' reception. She kind of reminded him of Agent Perotta, that Agent who had worked with him and Brennan, all those years ago. He still saw her occasionally in the halls of the Hoover building. She always said hi. He remembered the jealousy that Temperance had when the blond Agent had flirted with him, and expressed her interest. He smiled to himself again, at the memory of her.

The small blond woman stopped in front of him and stuck out her hand. She introduced herself as he shook her hand, trying his best to look charming.

"Hi. Are you Seeley? I'm Anna." He looked at her with appraising eyes, trying not to ogle her. She was a very good looking woman.

"Very nice to meet you Anna. So... you're a friend of Angela's?" He gestured for her to take the seat next to him and she did.

They had a short conversation, the initial 'getting to know you' kind of chat. It wasn't long before Seeley stood up, reached into the back pocket of his jeans, pulled out his wallet and dropped some cash on the bar. He looked at Anna with apologetic eyes and said,

"Sorry, Anna. There's really somewhere else I have to be." He could still catch the third period with his son if he hurried.

He walked away, leaving her not shocked at all, Angela warned her that he was off limits, but Anna had insisted on the hook up. Oh well, it was worth a shot, he was wicked hot.

She heard him say as he walked towards the door, probably mostly to himself,

"Sorry Ange, she doesn't even come close..."


	4. Little BoyLost and Found

Booth was getting into his SUV, when he heard his phone ringing from inside the vehicle. He had left it in the centre console while he spent a few well deserved hours at the gym, relieving tension of all sorts.

Parker had been staying with him for two weeks straight now. He didn't want to go home after one weekend spent with his dad and his little brother. His mother had a new boyfriend and Parker was having a hard time getting along with him. He was twelve now, and had all sorts of pre-teenage hormones raging through his system, and Booth was surprised when Rebecca agreed to letting him stay with his father indefinitely. She was willing to admit that the boy needed his father at this point in his life.

Seeley was thrilled to have both of his boys home, but they were exhausting. They were his boys after all, and they had a lot of energy. They were both active in all sorts of sports, and Booth had that very morning broken up a soccer game in the living room, that resulted in two broken lamps, and a broken picture. That was all before breakfast. He had sent them to their rooms to get ready for school, and went to clean up the mess.

When he bent over to clean up the broken glass his heart had dropped a little. It had been a picture of him and Bones. It was taken on their honeymoon by their Peruvian guide Fernando. They were smiling, and she was obviously pregnant, and glowing. He smiled. Good times. He would have to call Fernando one of these days. He wondered how he was doing; the two had kept in touch over the years.

He held the picture in his hands for a minute, and sighed. He still missed her so much. His thoughts were interrupted by a small hand on his arm, placed there gently by his younger son. He looked up into her eyes looking back at him in apology.

"Dad, we're really sorry. We should have known better. I wasn't being very sensible when I kicked the ball at Parker. He really shouldn't have kicked it back though. It was a mutual mistake." The small boy made his father smile with his rationalization.

Jax looked at the picture in his father's hand. He smiled.

"Mom sure was pretty wasn't she, Dad?"

"She was beautiful, more than just pretty..." His voice broke a little. It still did after all these years. He looked at his son, looking at the picture. "She looked just like you little man."

The boy looked back at him with a sceptical look.

"Boys can't be beautiful, boys are handsome, or good looking." The young boy corrected his father, and Booth picked up his son into a giant bear hug, laughing and kissing the embarrassed boy repeatedly.

"My boy can be beautiful!!" Jax laughed as Seeley put him down. He ruffled his son's dark brown hair as the boy ran off to finish getting ready for school.

***

Booth scrambled to get into his vehicle before his phone stopped ringing. He wasn't quite successful, and as he started the engine, he listened to his voicemails. There were a few. The first one was from some FBI Special Agent asking his advice on how to deal with squints. He was having a hard time understanding them, and desperately needed Booth's help.

He smiled to himself as he forwarded to the next message. His breath caught in his throat as he listened. It was from Jax's school calling to inform him that his son had wandered off during lunch hour and hadn't been seen since. Could he call them back?

Jax was enrolled in a private school that focused on independent learning and scientific progress. The kids learned whatever they wanted to, at any time. It was a school for the gifted.

She would have loved it.

The next two messages were also from the school, keeping him updated on fifteen minute intervals as to the situation with his son. He was very nervous until he heard the last message. It was from Cam, letting him know that she had something very important of his and whenever he wanted it back, to just stop by the Jeffersonian. He heard his son in the background saying,

"Can you tell my Dad that I'm just fine and not to worry please."

Booth wondered how he could be so angry and so relieved at the same time. The kid was only five, how did he get to the Jeffersonian by himself? He called Cam and let her know he was on his way, and then he called the school, and let them know what he knew. He drove the familiar route to the Jeffersonian all the while wondering how this could have happened in less than two hours. All his previously relieved tension was back. Two hours.

He walked into the lab with familiar ease, and as he always did, he glanced at her old office. It was now occupied by the newest forensic anthropologist, a stuffy old man with no sense of humour. All the other squints teased him behind his back, and Booth had laughed, on occasion, at their impressions of his dourness.

Booth walked to the platform and swiped the card that Cam had let him keep as kind of an honorarium. If they couldn't trust him, then who could they trust? The squints had told him that after he had told them that he had requested a transfer to another unit, and would no longer be working with them. He was still there once a week at least though, his son loved the lab, and everyone there was madly in love with the boy.

He walked up the stairs and his heart stopped when he saw his son.

Jax was standing on a step stool, leaning over a set of bones that was laid out on the lighted table on the middle of the platform. He was wearing an oversized blue lab coat that had the name Brennan stitched on the breast, and he stood, with his hands behind his back, careful not to touch the table, and appraised the bones with intense eyes.

He eventually pointed to a bone in the neck and looked up at Cam and Hodgins, who were covering up smiles with their hands as they tried not to laugh at the little boy, who was so much like his mother.

"What is that one called?" He really wanted to know.

"That's called the hyoid pal." Hodgins answered when Cam burst into a fit of silent giggles.

The young Booth looked at the little bone more closely and looked back up at Hodgins. His hands were behind his back again.

"Is it supposed to be all cracked like that?"

Now Hodgins couldn't contain his laughter and joined Cam, but the little boy was unfazed by their laughter. He continued to look over the bones with interest. His father approached the table unsure whether to be mad or not. The boy had just identified the cause of death. He was kind of proud. He smiled, and Hodgins caught his eye with a wink.

"Remind you of anyone there Booth?"

"Every minute of every day." Booth joined their laughter as his son said,

"Hi Dad," without looking up.

Jax was thrilled when Cam said he could keep the lab coat to wear whenever he visited, and his dad agreed, though he had a strange look on his face. All of the people who knew him knew that look. He had it whenever he thought of her and he had it a lot.

The boys charm didn't quite work on his father, who lectured him all the way home about going places by himself. The boy defended himself the whole way saying that he could take care of himself. He had taken a cab, telling the driver that he was meeting his dad at the Jeffersonian, and paid the man with his own saved money. Booth made a mental note to track down the cab driver and threaten him about giving unsupervised children rides to strange places. All was forgiven, but with the warning not to do it again, when his son looked at him with his big blue eyes and said,

"I just wanted you to come get me at the lab, because you're always so happy there, because that's where my mom used to work, and it reminds you of her. I'm sorry Dad, I just felt bad about breaking that picture this morning, I'm sorry."

When they arrived home they were met by a bruised-face Parker who was sitting on the couch holding a bag of ice to his swelling eye.

"What happened?" Booth held his son's face as he looked at the marks, "Did you get into a fight?"

"Not a fight really. This girl hit me..." Parker tried to explain further, but his Dad poked a particularly sore part of his cheekbone, and he winced.

"Hey, didn't I ever tell you not to hit girls? You know better than that." He sounded disappointed.

"I didn't hit her Dad... she hit me!"

"Why would she hit you?"

"Because I pretended that I fell off the slide, and that I was dead. She got really scared, and when I jumped up to tell her I wasn't really dead, she got really mad and hit me in the face."

Parker was surprised by his father's reaction, and the strange faraway look in his eyes. He had that look whenever he thought of Bones. Poor Dad, he missed her so much still.

"Sounds like a keeper to me, buddy." He put the ice back on his son's face with a smile.

Parker did not know what he meant.

Booth definitely loved having his boys home and he got up to inspect when he heard crashing coming from the kitchen followed by Jax's yell,

"FINALLY! A perfect spiral!!!"


	5. Crisis of Faith

Crisis of Faith

_Happy Easter everybody!!_

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Booth sat in the church, waiting for the priest to enter the confessional box. He just sat there. He didn't pray; he didn't want anything that he knew couldn't be done. He wanted his partner back, but... there was nothing that the big man could do for him.

He saw the older man enter the church from behind the altar and make his way into his side of the brown, wooden confessional box. Booth only waited a minute before he made his way over, and entered the confessional from the other side. He sat for a minute and then slid the wooden divider over, seeing the priests profile through the darkened mesh. He didn't know how to start.

"I'm sensing something is bothering you?" The priest took the initiative to start the conversation.

"Yeah Father, there really is."

"Tell me."

"Well, you see, my wife died a little while ago."

"I'm very sorry to hear that? Was it sudden?"

"Yeah... you could say that. She died just after our son was born. She didn't even get to see him."

"Your son, how old is he now?"

"He just turned six months old. I'm having a hard time dealing with it. You see, my wife and I weren't married very long, and the events of my son's birth were, well, quite dramatic. It's a long story." Seeley stopped, unable to go on for a minute. The priest waited patiently for him to continue.

"There's just so much I've had to deal with in the last while, and on top of that..." Seeley paused again.

"What else troubles you?"

"My wife didn't believe in God, and that scares me because I did, I mean I do, and I just wondered what the rules are about, you know, getting into heaven?"

"Do you believe your wife is in heaven?"

"I really want to Father. I just wonder...would she be happy there?"

"That's what faith is my son, the belief that your loved ones await for you on the other side is a firm conviction of our Faith. If you believe that she is there, then she is there. You will see her again."

"I really want to believe that. I can live the rest of my life without her, because I believe that she and I will be together again. It's just the meantime that gets me. How do I go on?"

"Your son. He was created by two loving parents, and he is a piece of both of you. If you honour her by raising that child in the manner that would have made her proud, then every day she is still with you. Do you understand?"

"Yeah... I can do that. That little boy is the only reason I get out of bed in the morning, it's just that..."

"Go on..."

"I've always been a religious man, and I really am thankful for everything I still have, but I have to wonder, where was God when my wife died? Why would he give me so much, and then take it away? What's the point?"

"Your wife was put on this earth for a purpose that only the divine can know. It's not up to us to know when that purpose is complete. Only God knows. You should know that even though your wife didn't believe in Him, He believed in her. And where was He when your wife died?"

"I would like to know if you have an answer for me."

"He was the same place He was when His own son died...waiting at the gates for them to come Home."

Booth sat quietly for a minute, thinking over what the man had said. He felt better.

"Will you pray with me Father?"

"Of course... Will I see you back here next Sunday?"

"Yes. My son needs to be baptized, and maybe we could set something up?"

"I'll look forward to it."


	6. Quiet Please

The music pounded so loud that pictures shook on the wall, glasses bumped in the dishwasher and the hockey sticks rattled in the closet.

Jax came down the stairs, into the living room and stood at the edge of the couch with his arms crossed, glaring at his father. Booth eventually looked up, saw his son, and turned the music down with the remote beside him and looked back at him with a questioning look.

"Dad... For the third time, can you please turn the music down...I'm trying to study."

Booth did an almost perfect job of suppressing his smile. Almost.

Jax started back up the stairs but his dad called him back. He was still slightly annoyed, but he went back into the room.

"Will you listen to one song with me?"

The young boy agreed, but looked impatient. Booth skipped forward a few songs and the song started to play. It had a good beat, Jax admitted to himself. He smiled a bit when his father stood up and started to pretend to play the drums. When the first chorus came on and "Hot Blooded" screamed through the house both Booth men were in full air guitar mode.

The song was over and they both noticed Parker standing in the doorway with his school bag. He looked at them in awe.

"How old are you again?"

"Nine, almost ten." Jax answered.

"No... I meant Dad! How old are you again?"

Booth laughed and ruffled younger son's hair. Jax made for the stairs and Parker followed him, but when he got halfway up he turned back and yelled,

"Hey Dad?"

"Yeah Parker?"

"I backed into a fire hydrant at school today. The insurance company is probably going to call about the damage to public property. Sorry!" He ran the rest of the way up the stairs so he didn't hear his father sigh, and turn the music back up.


	7. First Words

First Words

Booth sat in his living room. He wondered if his son was going to stay down this time. The boy had been up every hour on the hour and it was now three o'clock am and Booth was afraid to sleep, he was listening for crying again. The baby just wanted to hang out, he was sure of it. He hadn't had much time for the boy lately; there was a serial killer loose in D.C. So much of his time had been consumed by investigating body after body and there didn't seem to be any end in sight. He felt bad for the squints who had been working eighteen hour days lately, and the back-up in Limbo increased daily.

Doctor Saroyan had yet to replace his wife with another Forensic Anthropologist at the Jeffersonian. They were hard shoes to fill that were left behind by the brilliant Doctor. What they wouldn't have given to have Temperance back. Everyone missed her so much, in every way. It had only been nine months, and the grief was still pretty fresh for everyone in her extended family. No one missed her more than the man sitting on the couch, listening for sounds coming from down the hall.

He thought back to a meeting he had with Sweets the other day. He had forgiven the doctor, grudgingly, for the events that transpired leading up to her death. Booth still blamed Sweets, but after a long session with Doctor Gordon Wyatt, and inspiration from his Priest, he decided that in his own best interest, forgiveness was the way to go. He didn't need any more negative emotions in his life. Everything he did, he did for their son.

Doctor Sweets had told him days earlier that everyone was worried about him. How he was coping with work, life as a single father, life without her. He refused to give the young doctor the satisfaction of knowing how much his heart ached for his partner. Every time he walked into the Jeffersonian he expected to see her there. Working tirelessly, identifying, investigating, everything she was so good at. Sweets had thrown in his face the number of hours that Jax had logged in at the FBI daycare. As if he didn't feel bad enough about that, but he didn't have an alternative. Sometimes he left the baby with the squints at the lab, but he felt worse and worse every time he had to do that. Even though they all seemed happy to watch the baby, he knew how much work they had to do.

He considered his options, but there were few. One of them was a change in career, but he didn't know any other life. He was good at what he did, and they needed him right now. They needed all the help they could get. Now was not the time for that action. His thoughts were interrupted by his son crying again from his room. He got up with a sigh to get the baby.

He sat on the couch now with his boy. He had stopped crying when his father had picked him up. It seemed he just wanted to be held. Seeley was happy to oblige, but he knew the lack of sleep would affect both of them tomorrow. The two Booth's just sat there. Staring at each other. The baby's eyes looked so much like his mother that Booth couldn't help but remember all the times he had starred into those eyes in the night. However many times it had been, it hadn't been enough.

He thought of her and what she would have been like as a mother. He was sure she would have been amazing. Like everything she did. Except interrogate witnesses on an emotional level. That had been his forte. He remembered back to her pregnancy and how nervous she had been about impending motherhood. Knowing how the pregnancy had ended, he would give anything to go back to those times, to console her again. To talk to her, to be with her.

He realized that these thoughts were getting him nowhere. He looked back down at his son, and the baby babbled to him in his pre-verbal infancy language. They smiled at each other, mirror smiles. Seeley shifted the baby so that he was sitting and leaning against his chest, and he reached over to the end table by the couch and picked up a picture that was framed and displayed there. It was taken on their honeymoon. The only 'family' picture that Booth had. Jax wasn't born yet, but in the picture she was obviously pregnant and smiling her biggest smile. His heart warmed at the memory of those days. That's what he should focus on, what was; not what might have been.

He held the picture in front of his son, and pointed to Temperance. The baby slapped at the picture and his gibberish suddenly became quite clear.

"Mama."

Booth was in shock. He didn't believe what he had just heard. He pointed to himself in the picture, but the baby remained quiet. He pointed back at her and Jax clearly said again,

"Mama."

Seeley laughed out loud, startling his son, but he made the boy smile again with a big kiss to the top of his head. He was at that moment convinced he had a little genius on his hands. The boy clearly knew who she was. He talked about her all the time to Jax but he had no idea the baby's young mind was retaining anything. This was an incredible revelation. She lived through her son. Just like the priest had told him.

He shifted the baby more on to his chest and leaned back a little. They both fell asleep within moments, his mind was clear, but he briefly wondered about the capacity of his son's.

They next morning came early and as he watched his son spread oatmeal all over his face, he wondered what her reaction would be to the mess. He smiled at the thought. He looked around the kitchen and wondered if maybe it was time to move. Find a house for him and his sons. A place where Parker could feel comfortable as well. His apartment was becoming much too small for his growing kids. He wondered when he would have the time though. After they had captured this serial killer, he would make some drastic life choices. Life changes. Moving from this place would be a little bit like saying good-bye to all the memories that they shared there.

It was the first home they had, after the wedding, after the honeymoon, after her apartment was burned down by crazy Gus. There were a lot marks that she had left here. It would be hard to move, but he felt it should be done sooner rather than later. Soon... he would make the time.

He finished getting his son ready for the day, and himself. He no longer took the effort to impress anyone with his flashy ties or his crazy socks. He was a standard black tie-black-sock man now. It was always her he tried to show off for, but there was no need for that now. He had buried his 'Cocky' belt buckle in her hand after she had died. Never to be tempted again to wear it. She had bought him the replacement, after he had lost his original one on the Navy ship, care of the Gravedigger, and in his darkest days after her death, he felt it was a fitting end to his 'Cocky' attitude.

He would only be the best he could be for their son.

He strapped the boy in his car seat, in the back of the SUV, and drove off to the Hoover Building. His fatigue from his nearly sleepless night and the previous weeks, caught up to him very suddenly when a car cut him off and he swerved to miss it. While he swerved from one direction, another car was changing lanes beside him and the two vehicles collided. The SUV containing Booth and his son flipped over the car and came to rest upside down next to a guard rail a few yards beyond it.

The only sound heard from observers approaching the accident was the sound of the tires still spinning.


	8. First Words Continued

First Words Cont'd

Booth felt someone pulling him out through the smashed window. His eyes were half opened, but he couldn't see, something blocked his vision. He smelled smoke and gas. He heard sirens and people walking around on broken glass. His head hurt, and as soon as he sensed he was clear of his vehicle, he fought the arms that held him. He felt a cold cloth wiped across his forehead and then across his eyes. His vision cleared. He saw the red stained cloth as it moved away from his eyes. The paramedic knelt down beside him, his hand on his shoulder.

"Are you okay sir? Do you know where you are? You've been in an accident." Booth blinked his eyes a few times to clear his head.

"My son was in the back..."

"He's in the back of the ambulance, he's fine. Child safety seats are designed for such occurrences. Cute kid. He's already charmed my partner over there."

The paramedic stopped him when he tried to get up, telling him he had a nasty cut on his forehead, and then proceeded to tell him the benefits of wearing a seatbelt, since when he was pulled from the vehicle; he apparently hadn't been wearing one. He was bloody lucky to be alive. If the cars had been going any faster, or if the SUV had flipped one more time, or if the vehicle hadn't been built with re-enforced steel, he would have had more serious injuries than just a cut on his head. If that was all he had.

Booth ignored the man's help and pushed himself to his feet. He wiped his forehead and his hand was covered with his blood. He stumbled a little towards the ambulance; he needed to see his son. He wouldn't believe he was fine until he had seen him with his own eyes. He heard the giggles before he saw the little head of his son, who was being held by the other paramedic.

That perfect little head, which remained perfect. Nothing was wrong at all with the boy. Nota scratch. He held his son in his arms and cried just a little. More in relief than anything else. He was damn lucky. He knew it. The Booth luck seemed to have been passed on to his son. The paramedics insisted that they take him to the hospital, and when he saw that some of the blood from his cut had dripped on his son's little shirt he agreed.

He held his son constantly as he waited to see the Doctor. Just some stitches should fix him up and he waited patiently. When the doctor came around the curtain he was reading the chart of this patient; suddenly he looked up at the man sitting on the bed, holding the baby. They recognized each other immediately.

"Doctor Callaway!"

"Agent Booth! How are you? It's been a while. I see that you just can't seem to help hitting your head!" He looked closer at the boy on his father's lap. "What a gorgeous child. I'm presuming that he is yours and Doctor Brennan's?"

Instantly he saw the look of pain cross the man's face. He wondered what had happened. He remembered the FBI agent's sense of humour from their previous encounter. How long had it been? Almost a year and a half?

"Wow... you guys didn't waste any time there did you?" His chin pointed towards the baby, who looked at him with bright blue eyes. The Doctor smiled at the boy, and was rewarded by a huge smile from Jax.

Booth shifted his son further from the edge of the bed, and took a little while before answering.

"Well, it turned out that the wheels were already in motion with this little guy here before my, ah, injury. Nice surprise to wake from a coma with right?"

"It would seem as though." Doctor Callaway inspected the wound on Booth's forehead and told him that he could have it fixed up in no time.

He also let him know that because of his previous brain injury; he would need to go for a CAT scan. The Doctor was not taking any chances this time. Booth didn't argue. He wouldn't risk anything for that baby on the bed.

He found that he had a new sense of awareness about himself. Something had happened. Perhaps all he needed was a good kick in the ass to snap him out of his depression. A kick in the form of a totalled car with no major injuries. His son laughed at the Doctor, who was making funny faces at him.

"He really is a very good looking child Agent Booth. You and Doctor Brennan must be very proud."

Well, he knew he was, and he was pretty sure that wherever she was, she was proud too.

"He looks just like his mother. He's a blessing, that's for sure."

The Doctor stitched up Booth and sent him on his way upstairs to go for the brain scan. Within two hours he was cleared to be discharged. A little inside help from the Doctor helped speed the process along. He didn't even have to pull FBI rank. Nothing serious seemed to be wrong with him. He was very, very lucky, and he knew it.

He called headquarters and let them know what had happened, and let them know that he was going to be taking some sick time. They encouraged him to take his time. Come back when he was ready. Everyone knew that he had been over=worked lately and had not yet really dealt with the loss of his partner. He called a cab to take him and his son home. He was tempted to call one of the squints to pick them up, but he decided that he had relied on them enough in the last months. It was time to heal his heart and heal his brain. Both had taken quite a blow in the last little while.

He walked up the stairs to his apartment with his sleeping son in his arms and noticed a small bag on the top step. Max.

He picked it up carefully and carried it inside before opening it. He laid his son down in his crib and watched him for a minute. That little boy was the reason he was. The reason for his existence, and he owed it to Temperance to raise their son with joy and love in his life, not murder and mayhem. He understood that fully now. He was a changed man today. He couldn't promise he wouldn't be sad ever again, but his new purpose was to never forget her legacy. She was there with him. Always. All ways.

He went back into the foyer where he had set the bag down, picked it up and made his way into his living room. He reached into it and pulled out a series of pictures. They were of Temperance in her youth, growing up to become the beautiful woman she became. There was one of her when she was a baby, and he only reconfirmed the common notion that Jax looked just like his mother. It was scary, and amazing at the same time. He was grateful that Max had thought he might like to have these.

The fire in her apartment had destroyed everything she owned and he didn't have many physical memories of his wife. Except one very important one sleeping in a crib down the hall.

Booth felt lucky. He felt better. Nothing like a near miss to open one's eyes. He felt like calling his grandfather to thank him again for everything. He did.


	9. First Steps

First Steps

Booth sat at his desk in his office reading over the latest reports that had been submitted by the crew of the Jeffersonian. The body count continued to climb and there was still no actual evidence pointing to a suspect of any kind. It was very frustrating.

Booth no longer had the lead on the case, he had backed off, leaving the main investigations to other, more than qualified Agents. He had spent the last month, putting his life back together. Healing with his sons. He found himself laughing again, especially at Parker's reaction to Jax. Now that his first-born had discovered that the new baby had not taken his place in his father's life, he adored the baby. The other morning, Parker had been trying to help Jax walk in the kitchen while Booth prepared their breakfast. The baby was so close.

Two weeks earlier, he and his sons had moved into their new house. It was a beautiful old house in a private neighbourhood. The backyard was full of trees and as soon s Booth saw it, he knew it had to be theirs. The clincher for him was the master bedroom. It was a huge room on the second floor and two large French doors opened onto a balcony that overlooked the trees in the backyard. He knew she would have loved it. As he stood on the balcony with their son in his arms, he imagined how many ways he would have made love to her in this room, but his thoughts only strayed briefly to what might have been. He bought the house on the spot, not even bartering with the previous owners and the Real Estate Agent.

His family from the Jeffersonian had helped him move and settle, and Parker was thrilled when his father surprised him a few days later with his new room, and his new second home. Jax adjusted to sleeping in his own room by himself with no problems, though Booth sometimes missed the sound of his son softly snoring in the crib at the foot of bed.

This afternoon, a delivery of new furniture was expected and he was spending a few hours at the Hoover building, trying to help where his help was needed. Jax was down two floors; at the FBI operated daycare centre getting some 'Social Stimulation' that Booth had read in a book somewhere was good for a baby of his age. Just a few hours. He didn't feel guilty. A few hours, here and there, were much better than the ten hours he had been leaving him there over the last few months before his eye-opening accident.

He read over the newest cases, noting the only progress that was made was that the squints had, with the help of Zack, found indentifying marks on the skulls of many of the victims. No one was any closer to actually identifying the source of the marks though. Booth wondered how Zack's involvement had been obtained. He would have to find out. He hadn't seen the man since... he didn't even remember. He thought maybe Temperance had been a few time while she was pregnant, but he hadn't accompanied her. He hadn't seen the reason. Zack was where he deserved to be. He had killed somebody.

A woman at the door knocked quietly until she had Booth's attention. He looked up from what he was reading and immediately recognized the woman as one of the workers from the daycare.

"Hi Wendy, everything okay?"

"Yeah, there's just something we thought you might like to see!"

She gestured for Booth to follow her, noting the concerned look in the man's eye. She noticed that the Agent put his hand briefly on the small of her back to guide her towards the stairs. But as though he realized something, he pulled his hand back, and when she turned around to look at him, he just smiled, but his eyes looked very far way.

Wendy, who had worked in the Hoover building for years, knew the story of Booth and Brennan. Everyone did. Their story was fast becoming legend and if she didn't know of how much the man had cared for his partner, she would have asked him out. She knew he was off limits. Probably always would be. Oh well, he was still nice to look at and she could clearly see the love he had for his son. It only made him more attractive.

They walked into the daycare centre at the same time, and Booth immediately looked for his son. He spied him, in the middle of the central room; his hands were being held above his head by one of the workers and the boy had a huge grin on his face. When he spotted his father, the grin grew tenfold.

Wendy grabbed his arm and held him back from approaching his son, and he caught on to what was happening. He stopped, stooped down into a crouch and held his arms out to his son. The boy took a tentative step towards him, and then another. The worker let go of his hands, and the baby walked over to his father, giggling the whole way. Booth heard his phone ring from his pocket, but he ignored it.

When Jax got close enough, Seeley picked him up and lifted his son high into the air and laughed out loud. Wendy and her co-worker, Celia, both laughed too. It was good to see this man laughing. He had come a long way in only a few months, but both of the ladies knew that he would likely never get over the death of his wife fully.

'Too bad,' thought Celia, 'he was hot!' She watched the man continue to hold his son, laughing, though there were tears in his eyes.

Booth held his son and looked into her eyes on the boy. He knew that somehow, someway, she had just witnessed this, and was as proud as he was.

His phone rang in his pocket again.


	10. Darkest Day

**Booth's Dark Day**

Seeley sat in an old worn out chair in a hotel room. He had buried her today. What was left of her worldly remains now lay under six feet of earth. Cold and alone.

Just how he felt right now.

Cold and alone.

The half empty bottle of scotch was still held firmly in his hand, surprising, since there was already an empty one on the floor.

He put the bottle to his lips and pulled.

He did it again.

And again.

His inebriation didn't dull the pain in his heart as he had hoped. How could he go on? Without her.

His thoughts strayed to his son Parker. He would be fine. He already had a ton of memories with his dad. The man that Booth was... not this broken man that he had become.

Parker would have those always, and in time, he would only be a memory to the boy. Rebecca would always be there for him. Of that he was sure.

His thoughts then strayed to his newborn son. Their newborn son.

If Jax never knew him, he was sure that the boy would have some sort of hero worship for him. Stories would be told of his Father's glory days. People would make sure he had happy memories.

He would grow up never knowing what a failure that his father really was. He couldn't save her. It had been his prime goal for so long, to protect her...to save her. He had failed. She was dead.

It would be better for Jax to be raised by someone who would be able to protect him. By someone who was not a broken shell of his former self. He didn't see how he could live the rest of his life without her. It didn't seem likely at this point because Booth wasn't able to focus on much further than right now.

He decided then, that the rest of his life would be significantly shorter than originally planned.

He didn't care that he was probably going to hell. Hell couldn't be worse than this.

His other hand held his service revolver.

He pulled the hammer back, and let it go slowly.

He did it again.

The bottle made its way to his lips again, and he emptied it.

His coping mechanism had a design flaw. He couldn't handle it any more.

He pressed the revolver to his temple. He closed his eyes.

His phone rang.

His thoughts were interrupted and he put down the gun and pulled his phone from his pocket. He expected it to be another worried friend, wondering where he was. One of the squints probably. They had all left messages, wondering where he had disappeared to after the service.

He was surprised to see his own home number flashing on the ID screen.

He answered the phone.

His grandfather was asking him to please come home. The baby needed him. He could hear Jax' cries in the background.

His coping mechanism turned back on and he promised he was on his way.

He went.

Paying the cabdriver the appropriate amount, he went up his steps and into his apartment.

His grandfather was trying to soothe the crying baby, but his skills with a very young child were rusty. The old man smelled the booze on his grandson's breath before he spoke.

Booth took his son and the baby was instantly quiet, calmed by the familiar presence of his father.

He sat down on the couch, worried that his condition would make him unstable on his feet with the baby in his arms. His Grandfather sat beside him. The old man started forming three different lectures in his head, but could not make himself start any of them out loud. He knew Seeley rarely drank to this point of intoxication, but who could blame him. It had been such a dark day for the man.

They sat in silence. The baby slept.

Seeley finally turned to his grandfather and spoke only the words,

"Thank you."

The Grandfather assumed the words were referring to him looking after Jax all evening. He had no idea that he had saved his grandson for the second time from killing himself.


	11. What may have been

_A/N..._

_I should just make a note here and let you know that if you haven't read my other story, 'Continuation...', this chapter may seem very pointless, even lame...but it tells a different version of two major events, and how they may not have come to pass... I think it may hold it's own though, but I'm very biased._

_Thanks. (and possibly sorry!)_

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What could have been.

Booth sat in his SUV watching the house across the street from where he was parked. He was on a stakeout. The squints had identified one of the victims of the Chess Killer, appropriately named by his method of striking victims in the head with a chess piece, presumably held tight in his fist, and had traced him back to being the owner of the drug den that Booth now watched.

He was waiting for anyone with whom he could speak who might have information... anyone who might know the last movements of the dead man. He had been watching the house for hours, and no one had come or gone in all that time. He still watched. His mind briefly lingered on the thought of how it would be if Temperance were there with him. They would have argued by now, but the hours would have passed quickly.

Many, slow, hours later, a shaggy looking young man exited through the front door and looked both ways down the sidewalk before he started walking. Booth got out of the vehicle and followed him a few blocks, but lost sight of him when he turned into a small park.

Booth was stopped when he turned into the park. In the first fifty feet or so, there were a number of Chess boards set up on pedestals. This was something, or so he thought. The people who played the matches were an interesting mix of homeless and well-off. They all just seemed to be enjoying a day in the park. Nothing looked suspicious, and he saw no sign whatsoever of the man that he had been following.

He walked up and down the chess boards, eyeing the players carefully, and subtly. No one caught his well-trained eye. On his second pass, he stopped at a table where one of the men sitting there was a priest. He thought that this man could be someone who might know something or someone who knew the dead man. Someone he could trust.

"Good Afternoon Father."

The Priest smiled at him strangely, but Booth didn't notice. He pulled a picture of the dead man out of his pocket and handed it to the priest.

"I was wondering if you had seen this guy around."

The priest scanned the picture, but Booth could read nothing strange on the expression on his face. Like so many other members of the Clergy that Booth had dealt with over the years, the man seemed stoic and sincere. The priest handed the picture back to the man standing.

"I've seen him around, but I don't know who he is. Did he do something wrong?"

Booth tucked the picture back in his pocket.

"It's of no concern Father. Thanks for your time." Booth walked away. He looked around the park one more time for the man who he had originally followed in, but saw no sign of him. He started back to his SUV. He could watch the house for a few more hours, hoping someone else would come or go so he could get some answers to his questions.

As Booth walked away, the priest wiped beads of sweat off of his brow, and sighed in relief.

At about five o'clock he pulled his phone out of his pocket, and called the lead on the Serial Killer case, Agent Smith.

"Yeah, Smitty, nothing to report on the crack house. I have to go pick up my boy. I'll see you tomorrow."

The other Agent thanked Booth for his time today. Smitty knew that Booth had sacrificed a day off to work. His time seemed wasted.

*

Booth carried his son down the hall towards his office; he just needed to pick up a few things before they headed home. He tapped the 'bobble-head' bobby on his desk because he knew it would make his son laugh. Jax giggled, and Booth smiled.

"One minute Buddy, and we're on our way."

He pressed the play button on his answering machine. The first couple of messages were of no real importance. Work stuff. The third message stopped his heart cold.

"I'M COMING FOR YOU AGENT BOOTH, TOO BAD THERE'S NO PRINCE IN THE GAME OF CHESS!"

The voice had been digitally altered, and Booth had heard that voice once before. The Gravedigger. Booth shook his head. They had caught Heather Taffet and she sat in her prison cell even now, as silent as she had ever been. A copycat?

Booth called Smitty and told him about the strange message. The other Agent met him in his office almost immediately, and had a team run a trace on the phone call.

It had apparently come from a nearby church.

Smitty noticed Jax still sitting on his Father's lap, waiting patiently to be fed his dinner.

"Booth...Go home. We'll keep you posted, and send a car to look out for you a couple times tonight." Smitty clapped Booth on the shoulder. Booth agreed, though he was disappointed that he couldn't take part in the investigation of the phone call.

He went home and spent a delightful evening with his son even though the baby seemed to be coming down with a slight cold. Booth didn't sleep well, constantly on alert for any strange sounds. The night passed with no follow-ups to the eerie phone message.

Upon returning to the Hoover building the next morning, Booth was shocked to learn that Agent Smith and another Agent, who he didn't know all that well had been found dead at the church that morning. Apparently they had been electrocuted. No one knew for sure, the investigation continued...

Booth ran out of his office, a conference was being held in a meeting room down the hall about the events and who could help with the investigation, and how. As he approached the doorway leading to the room, already half full of Agents waiting for an update, he saw a woman wearing an older suit come out of the room carrying a small blonde boy. He watched the boy as the two approached him.

He thought to himself, cute kid, wonder what's going on with him.

The woman looked frustrated as she walked past Booth, but the little boy smiled at him. He smiled back. Definitely a cute kid.

The meeting informed all the Agents who were present, what had been discovered in the church. Every one of the priests living there were found dead, all murdered. The only exception was one priest who seemed to have been felled by a heart attack. The body was being sent to the Jeffersonian for autopsy. There was no sign at all of any suspect, but the young boy had been found in the church, unharmed. They were looking for the boy's family, and Booth hoped they would find them. His heart went out to the little boy's family, wherever they were. He remembered when his own son had been missing once.

She had still been alive then, but barely.

His focus went back to the man at the front of the room who was letting each willing Agent know where he, or she, was best suited to help.

Smitty had been loved by all. The other Agent had been well respected. They all owed it to the men to find their killer.

Booth was sent to the Jeffersonian to find out all he could about the autopsies and any particulate evidence that had been analyzed by the squints.

He decided to take his son with him and head directly home afterwards. The squints hadn't seen him in a while. He grabbed Jax from the daycare and made his way to the Jeffersonian.

Cam, Hodgins and Wendell were examining the remains of the priest who had been confirmed to have died of a heart attack.

They had identified him as being Father William Mackenzie and them were all speculating that perhaps the man had fallen victim to his heart condition before the serial killer had gotten to him.

Cam was ready to wrap up, her evidence supported their theory and as she wrapped up the body the FBI medical examiners wheeled another body in.

It was a woman that some homeless people had found in a shallow grave in a park. Cam sighed and leaned back against the railing.

"Is this ever going to stop? I don't know how much more of this I can handle!" She looked at Seeley and he nodded in agreement.

It turned out that it did stop. Very suddenly. The woman was the last body ever found that was related to the Chess Killer serial killer. The entire FBI pursued the search for months, but eventually the case went cold.

No suspect was ever brought to trial.

Over the years that followed, the case always weighed heavily on Booth's mind. Was there something he had missed? Something he could have done differently?

It was one of the few cases he ever worked where the bad guy got away.


End file.
